Brittany Martelle nets 11 points off the bench

COLCHESTER, Vt. (February 9, 2013) -- The Franklin Pierce University women's basketball team could not sustain a strong start on Saturday and fell apart in the second half as Saint Michael's rallied for a 73-59 win over the Ravens at the Ross Sports Center in Colchester, Vt. The Ravens dipped to 14-7 overall and 11-6 in the Northeast-10, while the Purple Knights improved to 9-12 and 7-10 in league play.

Three Ravens scored in double-figures, including a team-high 12 points from Kara Charette (Fairhaven, Mass.).

However, Franklin Pierce could not overcome a 48 percent shooting performance from St. Mike's, including a 53 percent clip from three-point range (9-of-17). Megan Olsen pumped in a game-high 19 points for the Purple Knights, while just missing a triple-double with 10 assists and nine rebounds. Theresa Carey followed with 14 points, while Nicole Adach added 13 points and six boards. Makenzie Burud rounded out the double-digit Purple Knight scorers with 10 points.

Franklin Pierce held an 11-point lead at several different stages of the first half, including at 34-23 with 3:50 left when junior guard Brittany Martelle (Brookfield, Conn.) laid in a basket. It was part of Martelle's 11 points off the bench for the Ravens.

The Ravens, though, couldn't put away the Purple Knights as they scored nine of the half's final 11 points to pull within four at 36-32 at halftime. Olsen sparked St. Mike's closing surge with five-consecutive points on a three-point play and layup.

Saint Michael's used that closing run to springboard itself into the second half. The Purple Knights ran off a string of 10-straight points during a three-minute span, kick-started by an Olsen basket and aided by back-to-back threes from Megan Gaudreau, to go from a six-point deficit to a 48-44 lead with 12:02 remaining.

Senior guard Tiffany Johnson (St. Albans, Vt.), who logged 10 points and eight rebounds in the game, stemmed the tide momentarily for Franklin Pierce with a three-point play on a layup and free throw, but it did nothing to trip up St. Mike's as it was just beginning to make another run to put the game out of reach.

Burud sparked an 8-0 run with a trey and Olsen capped it moments later with another three-ball to push the Purple Knights lead out to 56-47. Adach dropped in a layup a couple of minutes after that to lift St. Mike's to its first double-digit lead of the game at 61-50.

Franklin Pierce never got closer than eight points over the final five minutes as Saint Michael's cruised in for the victory.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens travel to Manchester to take on Southern New Hampshire at 5:30 p.m. The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was moved back a day due to the winter storm that was creating havoc in the New England region during the weekend.

For more information on Franklin Pierce women's basketball, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce women's basketball apparel can do so on the athletic department's online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)